Turkey’s media watchdog fines TV for lesbian kiss in music video

Turkey’s media watchdog fines TV for lesbian kiss in music video

Meltem Özgeç ANKARA

Turkey’s media watchdog has fined two music channels for airing music videos with scenes of sexuality, citing Turkish Sexual Health Institute head Cem Keçe’s controversial recent remarks on homosexuality.

The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) fined Genç TV for the music video of Elliphant’s “One More,” which features a scene of two women kissing.

The RTÜK report that set the grounds for the fine said the kissing scene was aired without any measures such as obscuring the scene or using pixelization. The clip also contains visual elements and gestures alluding to sexual intercourse, which could negatively affect child development, it added.

The report cited Keçe, who had previously said homosexuality was "not something from birth," but rather something "against human nature" and a result of parenting mistakes.

From Keçe’s point of view, individuals who are in the process of determining their gender identity could be affected by depictions of homosexuality on television, the RTÜK said.

The watchdog also fined Power TV for broadcasting scenes of “passionate fondling of a woman’s half naked body,” as well as “footage and gestures similar to pornography” in popular singer Pitbull’s music video for “Don’t Stop the Party.”